Today is a special day, the spring equinox, and for me it is the start of the best six months of the year, (well, I am entitled to my opinion). Yes, some people might like from September 20-March 20, but me, I love March 20 to September 20th. Why? Longer days, warmer days, more sun, and more time to be outside doing those things we love to do when living THPL. I have celebrated this day for quite some time. Odd, you might say, let me explain.Actually it all started for me when I was working in NYC in the early 90’s and I found myself on a daily commuter walk across town from Grand Central Terminal to 51st and 7th avenue. On that daily commute, my routing invariably had me walk by 1221 Avenue of the Americas, also known as the McGraw-Hill building. And in front of the building was a curious sculpture. A large metal, shiny triangle. As is typical of most NYers I walked by it hundreds of times before I decided to stop and admire it and see if I could better understand its meaning. And low and behold what I found out amazed me and stuck with me since then. This simple three sided figure was designed and arranged in such a way that the sides of the triangle align to the Sun on the days of the solstice and equinox. And as we know there are two of each, but for the equinox of spring and fall the sun falls in the same position in the sky.
I have looked at this sculpture again and again and marveled at it for many reasons. The simplicity of the structure (just a stainless steel triangle), how it represents a lot of data through its form, and how it makes it easy to understand why the days of the start of spring, summer, winter and fall are the way they are. All you have to do is to follow the sides of the triangle out to the sky and you can instantly see where the Sun will be at the moment of the equinox or solstice. Low sky, High sky, and Mid sky are aptly represented and hence are easy to understand. I could go on and on but you might get bored and I have one related and key thought that this most interesting sculpture shows us – that simplicity is in fact a high level of achievement and one worth striving for.
THPL takes shape, no pun intended, in many ways, and one of my favorites is when we take the time to notice that the simplicity of act, simplicity of thought or simplicity of design are so well conceived that they convey way more than you might rightly expect. Think of that most simple run, on a trail, nothing but the beauty of the surroundings to wash you in great feeling; through the simplicity of nature you are elevated to a new place. Like the sculpture, the guiding principle of simplicity elevates what we see and experience. Take a moment to look for other examples of simplicity, when you find them share them, celebrate them and see if you can indeed replicate them in your life.
The start of something special indeed, go equinox!
Loving life, longer days and more sun!
Sally made it through the trip to Phoenix and she is travelling back east with me. The dance was good at 3:26 + 20 second and a 206 pushup result on 4:19. Another 12 miles of running, note to self – pushups are harder after running.
Ciao
joe
For the fact checkers in the audience here are the factoids for today - the large metal triangle designed by Athelstan Spilhaus and fabricated by Tyler Elevator Products
An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth’s equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length. Another meaning of equinox is the date when day and night are the same length